BensFCRX7

I have seen a abandoned FC parked for a while now, I understand that I will probably need to do a rebuild, but I'm not just going to give up on a FC. It is ragtop though. I would like the aero plus paintmatching of a hardtop, I know it will need to be custom made. But what i want to know is why its 300 pounds more. What I need to know is what adds more weight, the actual engines that activate the convertible, or the extra supports made in the vert. And any way to get that weight back down to the same as other RX-7's without gutting the interior.

WondrousBread

Anything can be done with enough money. However, you'll be spending vastly more than it would cost to buy a hardtop and it will never be right.

There is extra weight in the actual frame of the car. So much rigidity is lost when moving from a hardtop design to a convertible that extra bracing is required to make up some (not even all) of the difference. This is why verts are simultaneously a few hundred pounds heavier and still less rigid than a coupe.

For an example of this extra bracing that's easy to notice, look up a picture of the vert front subframe compared to coupe. There is an extra support at the back to take up some flex. In fact, there are commercial underbraces made for coupes that perform the same function.

Then consider that the inside, floor, and hatch area are all different in a coupe. You'll need to buy almost an entire interior (headliner, door seals, a pillar and b pillar trim, and then everything from behind the seats to the back of the car). Also a set of coupe doors, a coupe roof-cut with quarter panels and a-pillars, coupe floor, hatch, latches, etc.

Then I hope you're an excellent welder and body expert, because grafting these together is a feat into itself. I don't know exactly what's under the skin of the FC roof and quarters but I know that bodywork is already a headache in that the quarters integrate into the roof. Since there is structure under there that needs to be tied into the vert body, that's a bit scary in itself because it would take a real expert to make it safe.

So to do this you would basically need a coupe parts car anyways, plus several thousand for the welding alone, plus several thousand for paint and finishing. Just to make a coupe that is less safe, heavier, and worth a lot less than the vert it started as.

In short; don't do it.

IMO: Either enjoy the vert as-is, or buy a coupe with a blown engine / trans / whatever and swap the identical vert running gear over. Assuming the vert running gear is good.

BensFCRX7

My plan is to make it a drift car. In the future I will put on a carb legal turbo just for less hassle, and getting back that old power.

I'm going to put in a full roll cage, and that should make it strong enough to take out those extra supports right? With that and the new hardtop it should work. Its too much hassle having to deal with faded or broken soft tops, and the color not matching. I know I will get told by everyone in the world not to do this, but that wont stop me. I know the American vert is underpowered, has a more open diff, and is heavier, but its what I have. I cant exactly go get a different FC unless I want to spend 10 grand on someone's blown engine with missing pannels and rusted floorboards. This car is in great condition for what it is, and I will spend much more time and money fixing up a rust bucket then I will making this a hard top.

WondrousBread

I think you're looking at this as if existing vert structure + coupe roof + rollcage must be greater than the sum of its parts. But the reality is that automotive design goes much farther than just welding more bracing in. Especially considering you're going to have to slice out the vert A-pillars and cut into the structure under the quarters to tie in the new roof. You'll basically have a car with literally no roof structure from chest height up, plus your roof welded on there. Hopefully the welds are good, but there is a reason that a car is usually replaced when the frame is compromised.

You do you, but it's a bad idea for all the reasons I mentioned. There's a reason everyone will tell you not to do it. Having to deal with a bad soft top isn't hard, just get a new soft top. You could get at least 10 soft tops for what it will cost in welding alone to get this project done the way you want it. Especially since I don't think any reputable shops will even do what you're asking.

Only if you radically underestimate the amount of work required, which is my point.

There is no way that changing all of the metal structure, the roof skin, a-pillars, b-pillars, hatch, doors, quarters, plus interior etc will cost less than fixing some holes in the floor of a coupe or getting a rusty quarter fixed at a shop. Not even a little bit close. Let alone the cost of paintwork.

Also good luck getting insurance if you intend to steet drive at all. If you tell them what you did they won't insure you, if you don't tell them and something happens they'll refuse to cover you if they find out.

That being said, if you really mean that no one will stop you then you should start at Foxed.ca with the Factory Service Manuals. They include lots of diagrams and measurements so you can see all the differences in the structure between verts and coupes.

Good luck, if you end up doing it then post a build thread here so we can see it.

Dak

Have fun parting out your vert.

You'd be better off trying to do something like this Or the teal one in this search rx7 convertible fastback conversion - Google Search

BensFCRX7

What I'm planning on doing is still keeping the notchback, I've seen it done before, but its still pretty rare.